


The golden trio

by Maria1980



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Childhood, F/M, Friendship, Love, Service
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:02:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24339328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maria1980/pseuds/Maria1980
Summary: I've decided to write something completely new, that I haven't written before. It's not going to be strictly in canon, like most of my stories is. I would say definitely AU (alternative universe). I want to explore the past of my favorite trio: Elsie/Charles/Beryl. I will devote one chapter to the childhood of each of them and then I will write how their roads crossed at Downton and how they became friends for life. As I said, it's not like it was in the series, just my idea of that. I hope you will like this. Due to the lack of facts about their childhood, I will use my imagination to create their backgrounds as best as I can.
Relationships: Charles Carson/Elsie Hughes, Elsie Hughes/Beryl Patmore
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

ELSIE-Argyll (Scotland)-1885

Elspeth May Hughes was incredibly happy in the day she turned 15. Her aunts, uncles and cousins visited her family home to give her their best wishes. The tiny Hughes family cottage-the house of Alastair and Coira Hughes-Elsie's parents, was full of love, laughter and happiness on this special day. Elsie was beaming with joy, when she heard that she is becoming a young woman now, that she has just passed her childhood years and entered a season when she began to blossom. Elsie was not a vain girl. She wasn't used to hear compliments every day, but today, wearing a new, blue dress, which her mother sewed for her for the last two months, devoting all of her free time, which she didn't have a lot of having her husband, two girls and a farm to take care of. Yet she found time to prepare this special gift for her daughter, being fully aware, that her older one will want to look the possible best at her birthday. Her father bought her a blue, matching ribbon, which she pinned onto her auburn hair and her whole outfit was now complete.

Today Elsie was surrounded with a feeling of complete security and although she and her family didn't have a lot, she sensed that it was not important. She had a roof over her head, she had a food on her table and a set of loving parents. Her little sister Becky was enjoying this day too. She was outside with the rest of the kids and Elsie watched as she laughed a lot, playing with her old toys. Becky still had a mind of a child and she was often very difficult to deal with, but even so, Elsie loved her very much and felt especially responsible for her. All her school colleagues already knew, that if they will ever try to joke about her Becky Hughes, they will have to meet with a determined reaction of her feisty sister.

Elsie sat on the doorstep of her house and she looked away. She was a little tired with a party by now and she suddenly started to think about her future. What will it bring to her? How will it go? Will she be happy? The adult life which was just round the corner, seemed like one, great mystery and she had no idea what it will give her. She only knew that she wanted to be happy, although she was not convinced that she would like to live the way her parents does. She felt that the world was full of other opportunities. She was a bright girl, with a kind heart and even though she loved the place that she was born in and she thought that her childhood was wonderful, there was always something deep inside her, some desire to know more. To see a different world, to find out how people live in other places, outside Argyll. She knew that her parents have probably already planned her future by now. She was supposed to finish school, get married, have kids and live nearby. They even chose a candidate for a husband for her. Joe Burns, who never hid the fact that he really liked her. 

Elsie liked him too, but not this way. He was good as a friend, to make jokes at school, to go fishing from time to time, but that was all. Hear heart didn't beat like crazy when she saw him and she knew that this was suppose to happen when you fall in love. She always read about that in the romance novels, that she use to smuggle from her friends, hiding it from her mother, who thought that she shouldn't waste her time for things like that.  
Sitting there and thinking about all the past and present events and all the people that she knew and loved, Elsie suddenly remembered that she should visit her friend-her neighbor, a lonely, old woman, named- Phyllis Logan*, who was living in a small cottage, all alone with her cats. She wasn't very respected by the local community. Scottish people tend to be very conservative and a lonely woman, living all by herself, with cats, was going outside the certain frames that the society liked to settled. Kids were afraid of her and they ran away when she was walking to the village, they called her a witch, they were scaring themselves, saying some horrible stories about her eating children. Other older women from the village didn't like her too. They always reminisced how she tried to seduce their men, when she was younger, somehow she never succeeded, because she was a lot wiser than most of them and men don't like wiser women.

Elsie didn't share the general dislike for Phyllis. On the contrary, she was always friends with the old lady. Ever since she was a little girl and she broke her knee, near to her house, she took her inside, medicated the wound and she gave her some candies to make her feel better. Since then, they were always on friendly terms. Elsie used to go to Phyllis, whenever she had free time, she helped her in some house things and she always gave her something in return. When she didn't have candies, she gave her some little things-some trinkets or she told her some interesting story. Elsie loved to be around her and she particularly enjoyed being with her cats. She always loved those animals and her father was against her having a cat, so she had to be satisfied, only dealing with Phyllis's cats.  
She promised her a piece of her birthday cake and she went inside to get some.

“Elsie are you taking care of your guests?”

“Yes mother.”

“Where are you going now?”

“I want to get a piece of my birthday cake to Miss Logan.”

“Ahh.. Your dear friend. Don't sit there long..You have guests.”

“I won't. I promise.”

Elsie took the piece of her birthday cake and she went straight to Miss Logan's house. The old woman was really happy. Elsie was very bright, so she noticed long time ago, that Miss Logan was not very rich and she was happy about every little thing to eat, that Elsie shared with her, hiding the fact from her parents. Miss Logan made some tea for both of them and they sat by the table.

“Elsie..You are fifteen already...It seems that it was yesterday, when I was taking care of your broken knee.”

“Yes Miss Logan. I remember that day.”

“So many years have passed and you are still visiting the old witch..That's what they do call me in the village, don't they?”

“Yes...But I don't believe that you are a witch..”

“Don't you Elsie? Well, maybe you should believe that..”-Elsie's face was suddenly expressing fear..”But don't you worry my child...I'm a good witch, who never does anything bad to people, unless they deserve it...I can see the future..Do you want me to look at your hand to see your future?”

“Would you?..Can you do that?”

“Of course I can. Let me see..What do we got here for our beautiful and wise Elsie?”-she took Elsie's hand and she was looking at it for a longer while...”I see a great, big castle...it's not on the moors, so it may be in England...Beautiful castle...You will live there...”

“Me? In the castle?”

“Yes. I see you in a black dress. I see a lot of keys...You will handle keys there..I see a lot of people. You will work in the castle, with a lot of people...You are chatting with a friend...She is small, red-head and very noisy, but she has a warm, kind heart...”

“Really Miss Logan? What else do you see?”

“There is a man in there too...A very tall, proud man...He has some important function there...He is in charge...He is a part of your future...A very important and very distant part..”

“Distant? What does it mean?”

“You will have to wait for your happiness very long my dear...Many, many years, but when it will finally come to you, it will be all that you have ever dreamed of...”

“So, I will be happy? But what about my parents? And Becky? Are they there too?”

“No. I don't see them, you will be all alone...But don't you worry my child...You will be far away, but your mind and your kind heart, will help you to survive through everything...Remember...The red head woman and the tall man are the part of your future..”

“Thank you very much Miss Logan. I will never forget that..”

“You are welcome my precious girl...Have a happy birthday and whenever you will go, don't you ever forget your old friend Phyllis...Even when I'm not there anymore, I will watch out for you and helping you..Always..”

“I won't..I promise...”

Argyll-1895

“You see Elsie. I told you. You should have married Joe when he was interested with you. You would have a nice, decent husband and kids by now. You would have lived on his farm and you could help Becky and me. And what do you have now? Nothing! You are already 25 and you are an old maid! You wasted your life!”

“Mother, please don't talk like that. It hurts when you say it...I couldn't have married Joe. I didn't love him...”

“Love! What a young girl like you knows about it? I'll tell you what love is, you silly, young goose. Love is when you have a man near, who takes care of you! Joe would have done that. You know how our situation is now, since your father died. We are living in poverty and all because you didn't want to help us, when you had the chance!”

“Mother, I know that I made a mistake. I'm sorry..I want to make it up to you...”

“How on earth will you ever make it up to me? To us?”

“I decided to go into service. I found an advertisement in a local paper. They are looking for a house maid in the English castle, in Yorkshire. It's called Downton Abbey. I replied to that advertisement and they want to hire me, so I will have to go away and live in England.”

“And you will leave me and Becky here, all alone? You know that I can't work! I have to take care of her, for the rest of my life. We were only living on what you earned and those few penny's that I have after your father. How will we live now?”

“Don't you see mother? I will earn much more in there, than I could earn in Mr Cowell's shop. I will have a roof over my head and food on the table. I won't have any extra expenses and I will give everything to you. I will send all my salary to you mother, so you and Becky could live peacefully.”

“And you are ready to go away? To live in strange place, with no family and friends around?”

“What other choice do I have mother? I need to provide for you and Becky.”

“You are my darling, brave, little girl...I'm sorry for what I said before....Won't you be lonely there? Won't you miss us?”

“Of course I will mother, but there is no other way. I have to do this..For you and Becky. For father. I promised him, that I will take care of you. He left your safety in my hands.”

“Thank you Elsie...You are my sweet, kind girl..You were always like that..”

“Mother..I have a little favor to ask you..When I will go away, can you please put some flowers to Miss Logan's grave, when you will visit father on the graveyard? I promised her before she died, that I will take care of her grave, but now, when I won't be around...Will you do that for me?”

“I will. Although, I will never understand why this woman meant so much to you..”

“Please mother. Just do what I ask you..”

“I will Elsie. I promise.”

And so, on the very rainy day of September 1895, Elsie May Hughes left her family home and her village and went on the train to Yorkshire, to find her destiny, the one which Miss Phyllis Logan predicted for her.....


	2. Charles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello all. Thank you for all your reviews. I love all my faithful readers, who are always with me. Whatever I write, if it's good or bad, I know I can always count on you. Thank you. As I promised before, I will devote each chapter to the childhood of each of my favorite trio. Today we are entering the young years of Charles Carson. I have no idea where he was born (I don't think it was ever mentioned in the series), so I will give him Yorkshire. Hope you will like this chapter.

CHARLES- Yorkshire (England)-1881

Charles was walking home from school, with a heavy heart. He just finished the last year of learning. He wanted to continue, but his father forbade him to do that. He ordered him to go to work, to help him support the family. Ernest Carson was a sturdy and strict man, who never wasted time for talking much. When he said something, when he made some decision, everyone in the family knew that this is how it's going to be. There was no discussion for Ernest. He considered his decisions as an obligatory law. His wife-Victoria-Charles's mother, has never contradicted him, since the day they got married. Charles and his three little sisters: Patricia, Beatrice and Charlotte, knew that they have to obey their father. 

Ernest brought the children according to the rules of Victorian society-”Children were to be seen, not heard”. They were suppose to be handy, polite and preferably quiet.  
As far as his little sisters, usually behaved according to their father's rules, Charles was the one who tend to get into trouble often. He felt that he was so different from his father. His father was decent, hardworking man, but his mind was so limited. His life was revolving around the factory that he worked in, Sunday church and occasional meetings with his friends in a local pub. He didn't expect much from life.  
Victoria was different than her husband-Charles always knew that he had his mother's character. She liked to play the piano at church, she liked to read books, whenever her husband was not nearby, as he considered books as something that was a waste of time.   
Charles saw and shared his mother's interest with the world, but there was nothing much they could do about their curiosity and appetite for life, with Ernest Carson living in the same house with them.

Charles sighed deeply, nearing the cottage doors. He felt that his life was over. He liked going to school. He was one of the brightest kids in the village and his teacher always said that to his father, whenever he met him. But not even once, Ernest made an effort to approve his son's brightness. He was waiting impatiently for Charles's sixteenth birthday and he didn't leave any doubts with his son, that as soon as he will pass the age of sixteen, which happened a month ago, he is about to take him to the factory with him, to teach him how to work. He was almost at the doorstep, when he noticed some strange assemblage on the village square. He decided to go there, to check what was going on. There was some man there, funny dressed who was handing pamphlets. Charles took one. It said that they were looking for the stage performers, at one of the London theaters. No qualifications were needed. The age limit was sixteen. Charles's eyes brightened when he saw this. He never thought about performing on stage before, he didn't even know if he had any skills that were needed..But still...That would be something different. A totally new experience, so varied from the simple and boring life that his father led in the village. Charles wondered what would have happened, if he ran away from the house and...?  
No, he couldn't do that...Not possible...But what if...?

Few minutes later, he entered the house, to find his mother preparing dinner for the family and his little sisters in the corner of the room, playing with their dolls.

“Hello mother. I'm home. The school is over.”

“Hello Charlie. How was your last day at school?”

“It was pretty good. Mr Watkins congratulate my on my final exams and he asked me one more time if I wish to continue learning, once the summer vacation is over.”

“Charlie, you know that it's not possible...Your father has already decided about this.”

“I know mother. But why? He knows that I'm the good student. Why won't he let me continue?”

“Well, you know your father. When he decides something there is no other way. We must obey him. You are his only son. His hope. He wants what's best for you. He wants to prepare you to your further life. One day you will have your own wife and children to support. You need to value hard work.”

“I know that father's intentions are not bad, but he could have at least ask my opinion. Consider my feelings. Maybe his life is not the kind of life I want? Maybe I need something different mother?”

“Charlie, I don't want you to speak that way! Your father is a very respected man here and you shouldn't think that his life is worthless. You should be grateful that he always tried to be the best father he could. You will understand that one day son. Once you will get a children of your own...”

Charles sighed deeply again...He stopped listening his mother lecturing him about the advantages of his father's way of life. He loved his mother very much and even though she was brighter and much more interested in the diversity of the world, he knew that Ernest Carson was always number one for his wife. She loved and obeyed her husband, without any objections.  
When Ernest came home from work and they all sat by the dinner table together, his father said do Charles:

“Well now my boy. I already spoken to the foreman in the factory. He was so kind to accept you as the beginner worker. Just because he knows me and respects my hard work. You are starting on Monday. I will teach you everything and if you will work fast and effectively, you will make something out of your life. What's the matter boy? You don't look to happy?”

“You see father..I would really like to continue school. Isn't there any way, that we could start this plan of yours a little later? Maybe in a year or two?”

“What do you mean boy? You are sixteen. You had studied enough. You are not an illiterate, are you? So what more do you want? You are also not a child anymore. You are a young man now. It's high time for you to appreciate the meaning of working hard. Just be glad that I'm giving you this opportunity. Not every boy your age has it. So you should be grateful. As I said before, you will work with me and you start on Monday and that's final.”

On Sunday night Charles couldn't sleep. He had terrible visions in front of his eyes. A visions of empty and boring life, just like the one that his father led. He took out the pamflet of his pocket, the one that he received from the strange man on the square and he decided that it was now or never. Either he is going to stay and be miserable for the end of his life, or he will take his faith in his own hands. When it was dawning, he got dressed, took all the money that he saved and escaped from his family home to meet the unknown future....

London-1885

Charles had enough, enough of the stage life. The Cheerful Charlies were very popular and the money was good, although he knew that his stage partner- Charles Grigg, was regularly stealing from him. He escaped his family home to search for a better life, but after four years, he still didn't feel satisfied. He missed his family enormously, but he knew that he couldn't come back. He once wrote a letter to his mother, informing her that everything was all right with him and asking how were things going at home, but instead of an answer from her, he received a brief note from his father, that he doesn't wish to receive any letters from him again. He called him a traitor and he added that he broke his mother's heart. 

Charles was simply devastated when he read that note. He never tried to contact his family again. He felt incredibly lonely. He fell in love with a beautiful girl, Alice Neal, but she rejected him and chose his stage partner. Well maybe, not exactly that she chose him, but Grigg made sure that she did. Even though they were stage partners for almost three years now, Charles knew that Grigg hated him. He was jealous of him, because the audience preferred Charles and all the stage girls were always making sweet eyes to him, not to Grigg. Charles was reluctant to those advances, until Alice came. So once Grigg saw that Charles fell in love, he made sure that the girl preferred him. He was good at nasty tricks. He knew how to charm woman, better than Charles. So he charmed Alice and they were to marry soon.

It was more than Charles could bear, so he decided that enough was enough. This morning, looking through the paper, he saw an advertisement from the great household in Downton Abbey, near Ripon. It said that they were looking for a footman. Charles immediately felt that it was high time to change his life. Living in service will give him a steady roof over his head, a food on the table and an opportunity to save all his earnings to the future.

He wanted to try, so he replied to the advertisement and to his surprise he got accepted. He knew that this is going to be a great shock for his stage partner. Grigg won't be able to pull off the show all by himself, after all, people went to see Charles. Not Grigg. But he didn't care about that. Grigg never made an effort to be loyal to him, so why should he? 

And so on a sunny, summer day of 1885, Charles got to the train to Downton Abbey, to begin his new life. Little did he knew, that he was heading to a place that he will live in almost to the end of his life, the place that will give him everything-a job for life,decent employers, good friends and a woman that will became his beloved wife one day...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's my take on Charles's past. I always pictured his father as a strict figure and his mother as the one who made Charles interested with books and the world. I hope that this chapter didn't disappointed you very much. It's difficult to write without uncle Fellowes ideas, just using my own imagination, but I hope it wasn't all that bad. Sorry for any mistakes and if you like it, please let me know. The next chapter will be about Beryl's youth years.


	3. Beryl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone. Thank you for all your reviews after Charles's chapter. Writing it, I had a feeling that I didn't immerse enough in Charles's past...There are so many possibilities with writing about their past. Maybe someday, I will write a separate life story of Charles and Elsie. Right now we are coming back to our golden trio. This time let's take a closer look at little Beryl ;-)

BERYL-Lancashire -1878

It was five fifteen in the afternoon, on this sunny, June Sunday of 1878. It was the middle of tea time in Patmore's house and all the adults were busy outside, chatting and laughing, with their family and neighbors. They were celebrating the 12th wedding anniversary of Jacob and Barbara Patmore. What a joyful day it was. Mr and Mrs Patmore, didn't have much, but all they had, they always shared with their friends. They were known as the people who never refused to anybody in need.  
Jacob was working as a railwayman, in a local station and his wife Barbara, was a housewife and she took care of her family. Jacob was a tall and handsome man, he was extremely straightforward, living by the rules that the Church and his parents thaught him. He was hardworking man and work filled most of his time, but when he returned home, he gladly spent time with his family. He loved them dearly. His wife and their three girls. He always wanted to have a son, but as Barbara got really ill after her last pregnancy and the doctor warned her, that the next one could cost her life, he accepted the existing reality and he was more than proud of his three little sunshines.

Barbara was a little, chubby woman with a round, red face and a crown of golden-red hair. She liked to laugh a lot. Everyone who knew her, always identified Barbara with lots of fun and laughter. Her life was her husband and three girls, that she delivered into this world and also her mother-Rebecca, who spent her old years living in her daughter's house.  
Three Patmore girls were totally different characters. The younger ones: Kate and Philippa (age eight and six) were very good and obedient to their parents. They rarely get into any sort of trouble. They definitely resembled their father, who tried to live by the rules all his life.

Their eldest one-Beryl (age ten), was another matter. She was a spitting image of her mother. Rather short, a little chubby, ever since she was a baby and very noisy. When she entered this world, her first cry was so loud, that Barbara-her mum, thought that people from the other side of the village must have heard that.   
Being the oldest one, gave Beryl some sort of privileges with her sisters. She was the one who always led all the child games. She was the one who had the biggest tendency to make nasty tricks to other people-not because she was malicious, there wasn't a bad bone in little Beryl's body, but because she loved to have fun most of all, even if that was at the expanse of others.  
Beryl was also her grandmother's favorite. When Rebecca sometimes walked into the village, to visit some of her old friends, she always took Beryl with her. When she told the stories from her youth years, Beryl was the one who listened to them most frequent.   
Beryl very early sensed, that she was grandma's favorite and she sometimes used that, when she got into some troubles with her parents, who never had any doubts who was to blame for all the house damages.

They never punished their girls severely, yet, the punishment needed to be inevitable. Often, at times like that, grandma Rebecca was the one who got Beryl out of trouble, defending her and explaining that Beryl was still a little girl and she will have enough time to learn how to live her life. Since Jacob and Barbara both respected grandma immensely, they often gave up punishing their oldest, little devil.

On this particular afternoon, little Beryl, dressed ceremonially in a white dress and a matching ribbon in her red, curly hair, had another devious plan. She was going to sneak into the larder, to steal some of those delicious strawberry cookies with cream, that she adored so much. Beryl loved all the sweets and she couldn't help to taste them all, usually in excess. She couldn't even remember how many times her mother and grandmother scolded her for eating too much. Today, because of all the guests and the family were outside, Beryl decided, that she can safely go to the larder, to eat some more. She was to shy to ask for the ones that were on the table, but she knew, that there were more of them, because she saw how many her mum and grandma baked it, late at night.

She inserted herself quietly inside and her little face brightened with joy, when she saw a cake stand full of cookies. She went to the shelve and she began to eat them, one by one, enjoying the delicious taste. She wasn't aware that her granny, as usual, predicted her favorite's granddaughter intentions and followed her there.

“Beryl! You little, naughty girl! What are you doing here?”

Beryl turned around immediately, with her cookie half-eaten, with fear in her eyes and the expression of guilt. Her little, round face was begrimed with the cream and she decided to do the trick, that usually worked for granny.

“I'm sorry granny...I didn't mean to do anything wrong. I promise that I will not do it again. Please don't be mad at me..”-her little lips began to tremble and there were tears in her eyes...It's not that she was that sorry, but she knew, that this will make grandma forgive her and she was right.

“Oh, don't cry my little darling. It's all right now. I won't tell that to your parents, but you have to promise to be a good girl from now on...Will you promise that to grandma?”

“Yes grandma. I promise.”-Beryl had a wide smile all over her little face again...

“You are a little glutton. You never know where to stop when it comes to sweets, don't you?”

“Yes Granny. I like cookies a lot.”

“I know that my sweet, little girl. But you need to remember that eating sweets is not that good for you. Me and your mother have spent a lot of time, preparing them and we need to have enough for the guests.”

“I saw how you baked them granny. I woke up in the night and I saw when you and mum were baking them...Granny, will you show me how to bake cookies one day?”

“Would you like to learn that Beryl?”

“Yes granny...Very much.”

“All right baby. I promise that I will teach you how to make cookies and how to prepare other things in the kitchen. Who knows? Maybe it will be useful for you one day. Come on now angel, you should join the other kids, before your parents will notice your absence.”

“I love you granny.”

“And I love you too sweetheart.”

Grandma kept her promise and within few days, she taught Beryl how to bake cookies. They had such a great fun together, that grandma came with an idea to continue that and so on and on, gradually, she taught Beryl everything that she knew about cooking and her knowledge in that subject was really impressive. Before Beryl reached twenty, she already handled cooking very well. She and grandma made many special meals together for the family and when grandma left this earth, Beryl, in spite of her enormous grief, sensed that her grandma got her a very special gift, which will became the source of her earnings in the future...

Lancashire-1898

“Beryl, pumpkin, are you sure that that you are making the right decision? You want to move away from us? Left your whole family and all the people you know?”

“Yes mum. I'm more than sure. It's a great opportunity for me. The house that I'm going to work in, is a great castle, which belongs to a very old, aristocratic family. I will start as a kitchen maid, but who knows? Maybe I will become a main cook one day? Anything is possible.”

“But wouldn't it be better for you to stay here? To work nearby?”

“No mother. I love you and dad very much and all the family, but I don't want to listen anymore about how my life is a failure, just because I didn't marry or have children. You know as well as I do, that people in our village will always throw that on my face, as long as I'm here.”

“You shouldn't feel bad about it sweetie. That's the plan that God had for you. It doesn't mean that you are less valuable than your sisters...”

“I know that mother and you know that too, but I'm afraid that other people don't see it that way. Where I'm about to go, nobody will care that I'm not married and if I will get to be the cook one day, they will call me Mrs, not Miss. Because the cooks and housekeepers are always Mrs. They are married to their jobs. I will be much respected that I am here.”

“If you say so honey. You have enough experience, since you have been working as a kitchen maid for more than ten years, with the old Marchant widow.”

“Everything I know now, I owe to grandma. She was the one who taught me all of this. I will never forget that...”

“She loved you very much, you were always her favorite....No matter where you will go, she will always be with you, supporting you in a difficult times that you may have...”

“I know mum. I will never forget who I am and where my family roots are. I will always love you and dad very much.”

“And we will always love our red-head girl. Our cheeky, little Beryl...Go on then sweetie...Make the best of your life and we will always love and support you, as long as we will live..”

“Thank you mother...”

And so, on the beautiful April, spring morning of 1898, Beryl left her family village, her parents, her sisters, her neighbors and her friends and she went to start her new life, in the kitchen of the one of the finest households of England-Downton Abbey. The place that will become her home for most of her life, the place that she will make great friendships and the place where she will go through the variety of life experiences...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for this one guys...I had so much fun writing it, because I rarely write about Beryl, but the scene that I wrote with her and her granny, was literally in front of my eyes, when I wrote it. Just imagine this cute, little chubby girl, eating all the cookies ;-) ;-) Anyway, I always thought that Beryl came from happy, stabile home and that is how I described it in here. I hope you will like it. Sorry for any mistakes. In the next one, I will write about Elsie, Charles and Beryl thoughts on each other, while they are already living and working in Downton. If you liked it, please let me know. See you soon!


	4. The golden trio-4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone. Thank you for all the support and reviews. We safely got through the glimpse of Elsie, Charles and Beryl young years. Since they are now all living and working in Downton, I decided that the final chapter will be about their mutual relations. I will write it in three sections. One section for each of them and their thoughts about the other two. I know that we didn't have enough scenes with them in the series, but the ones that we had, gave me the feeling that they were like the three best friends, so I will try to enlightened this in this final chapter. Hope you will like it.

BERYL

Life can be full of surprises-Beryl thought, preparing bechamel for the evening dinner. Eight years have passed, since she decided to leave her family village and came to Downton as an assistant cook. She was an exceptional worker, because cooking was her true passion, that her grandmother gave to her. Ever since she started to work in the big house, the main cook-Mrs Yardley, noticed, that this little, red-head girl, was someone who has a bright future ahead of her. When she decided to retire, two years ago, she pointed to Beryl as her successor and so Beryl was now the main cook in the great house of Downton Abbey. It was a very hard work. From down till dusk. The big family, who was constantly having guests was not easy to handle. In spite of that, Beryl never complained about her life. She missed her family of course, but the occasional visits that she paid to them, was enough for her to find out that she has made a good decision, leaving her home. When she got promoted and went to visit her family, announcing proudly that she is now called Mrs Patmore, one of her aunts made a nasty remark, about this being an only way for Beryl to ever be called Mrs. Beryl felt very sad when she heard that, she understood that she will never find an appreciation in her family village, maybe only from her parents, who were really proud of all her accomplishments and Beryl was aware that her mother told everyone who wanted to listen, that her daughter was a main cook at one of the finest houses in the country now.

Beryl was really happy at Downton. The Crawley family, even though they were aristocrats, were really nice people. Kind, understanding and not very demanding. She liked Lord and Lady Grantham and she was fond of their three girls, who often sneaked into her kitchen, to ask for some special treats.  
She liked her work colleagues as well. Most of them very truly nice. But two of them, held a special place in her heart.  
When she arrived to Downton and met Charles Carson, she was a little scared of him in the beginning. He seemed so impossibly pompous, the quintessence of a true, English butler. But as she got to know him better, she found out, that beneath this stiff interior, lies a kind heart and a bright mind. They both shared their views about all the modern inventions, being in agreement, that they are redundant. Mr Carson was always easygoing with her and she fully appreciated this, rewarding him with an extra slice of an apple pie that he loved so much. When he was in a better mood sometimes, they even managed to joke about things, this usually happened, when Elsie was around them too, as she always used to set free Charles's Carson lighter and better side, as Beryl noticed soon after her arrival.  
When she first met Elsie, they didn't became friends right away. In the beginning she felt, that she doesn't have much in common with this fiery, Scottish woman, who was a house maid and became a housekeeper, one year before Beryl was promoted to a main cook. She used to kept her distance for a while with Beryl, besides Beryl was a little jealous of her beauty and her charm, which she knew she, herself will never have. She noticed how easily Elsie conquered the heart of Charles Carson and she envied her, that she had a man who would do anything for her.

As the time progressed and Beryl had a chance of having few interesting conversations with Elsie, she soon find out, that in fact they have a lot in common with each other. In time, they became friends for life. Friends who supported each other, who helped each other in their work, friends who shared their life secrets, during the quiet evenings in Servants Hall and most of all friends, who never wasted an opportunity to tease each other and Mr Carson a bit, when there was a chance...  
There was no doubt for Beryl, that she made the right decision coming to Downton Abbey, to start a new life. In the beginning she felt emptiness and loneliness, but that was no longer the case, as she had two new friends here, who she always could count on.

CHARLES

Charles Carson was not a vain man. He never considered himself special. He never thought, that he was handsome, intelligent, fair or dutiful, even though he was all of those things. But in the first few years of the new century, he finally felt, that everything was right on it's place and that is how he liked it the most. He was a butler of the great house. His salary was more than satisfactory, not to mention the additional source of it, as all the tips that he received from the guests constantly visiting Downton, who were very pleased about his work. He saved all the money, thinking about the future. He had no past now. He left all his family and friends from his childhood years behind, knowing that there is no possibility of coming back, so the only thing that was left to him-was his present and his future and that was what he was focusing on now.

He was extremely grateful that he had the privilege of serving such an old family as the Crawleys. He respected the Dowager Countess tremendously. He considered Lord Grantham his commander and he always obeyed his orders. He felt sympathy for Lady Grantham, even though she was an American, he appreciated her kind and warm heart.  
He was very fond of the Crawley daughters. Especially the oldest one-Lady Mary. She held a special place in his heart, ever since the early childhood. She was a curious, little spirit, who liked to escape her nanny and visit the downstairs. She knew, that she will always find some candies at her good friend-Mr Carson. She always knew, that he won't refuse her, when she will ask him to read her a fairytale or to tell her some scary stories. Their mutual sympathy was very well known to all the people from the upstairs and to all the people of the downstairs as well.

He was generally happy about the set of people that he worked with. He made sure that they would always maintain the highest, possible standards, serving the family. But he was also very kind and understanding, when some of them had some little, personal problems.   
Among all the people of the downstairs, two women were the closest one to him. Beryl Patmore-the cook, gained his sympathy from the first moment that she started to work at Downton. He swiftly noticed, that she was an excellent worker and that was something that he always used to appreciate highly in people. He wasn't surprised at all, when he found out, that old Mrs Yardley decided that Beryl was the one who should replaced her. He respected her hard work, realizing that the position of the cook, was one of the hardest jobs in all the household. Meal time never really ended in Downton. All day of every day, was marked with hard work from the cook. And when they finally had a chance to relax, he found out, that this small, red-head woman, was kind of amusing and fun to be around. And everyone of us needs a little fun sometimes, even people like Charles Carson, who treated his career very seriously.

Elsie Hughes-the housekeeper, was another matter. Ever since the day she came to Downton and he saw her for the first time, he knew that she will forever held a key to his heart...She was such a beautiful, young woman. With her auburn hair and blue eyes and her enchanting Scottish lilt...Being who he was, he had to be on guard, not to let his feeling control him, but sometimes it was really difficult to do, especially when the time passed and they got really close to each other. Now, they were best friends, who were complementing each other perfectly, both professionally and personally. Their evening ritual with a glass of Sherry, were known to the whole household.

During day time, Charles's mind was occupied with thousands of things that had to do, to make sure that the household worked perfectly, but during the evening meetings with Elsie, his eyes often went a little blurry, when he was looking at this incredibly lovely woman, who captured his heart. He was more than sure, that he wants to marry her one day. He didn't exactly knew how and when it will be possible, but one thing was certain in his mind-he will not marry anyone else. As he knew, that he will never find another woman, like Elsie. So full of charm, grace, beauty and kindness.

When he was with Beryl and Elsie, his pantry or her sitting room were often full of laughter and jokes thet only they could understand, whilst when he was only with Elsie, his heart and his soul were telling him clearly, that this woman is his present, his future and his wife to be one day...

ELSIE

Elsie Hughes knew that all she had achieved was a result of her hard work. When she came to Downton as a house-maid, she wasn't going so far ahead, she wasn't planning to make a career. She had one goal-to be helpful to her mother and sister, who stayed in her family village, long way from here. She got to know herself as a hard-working young woman, who never complained at anything and never had any regrets about her life.

She was a very bright person and this was not something that was common among the maids, so it wasn't long, before she drew an attention of the old Downton housekeeper-Mrs Brown and when she retired, Elsie took over her duties, with a full knowledge about the functioning of the household. She was effective, swift, strict and kind at the same time. Just a perfect combination of the qualities, that the housekeeper should have. Her Scottish frugality caused that there was never any waste in the house and her employers were really satisfied about her work. Elsie liked them, although she didn't worshiped them. She had a full knowledge that they are just a means to achieve her goal-to earn money and support her family. 

She thought that the house that she was in, was not the worst choice that life could have given her. She respected the Crawley's and she liked their girls. There had a special bound with the youngest one-Lady Sybil, who liked her very much and she often searched for her company.  
Elsie cherished this sweet, little girl, whom she liked much more than her older sister. She consider Sybil a little angel, a ray of sunshine in her life and only sometimes she sighed deeply, when the little girl showed her some affection, thinking with a pain in her heart, how great it would be to have such a cute little girl of her own, but she realized that this will probably never happen.

Elsie was more than glad, that her co-workers were a bunch of really nice people. Of course, they acted like babies sometimes and often she had to switch her mother instincts, to manage them, but most of the time it wasn't a problem for her. There was a general belief, that you don't want to run foul with Mrs Hughes, but if you will be in trouble, you can always go to her and she will gladly help you.

Because of her position, Elsie always had to be aware, that she can't really get into some kind of closer contacts with the lower staff, but fortunately, there were two people that she always considered equal and now, she could say with all the certainty, that she had two, real friends in Downton.

Her relationship with Beryl was not always an easy one. At the beginning, they didn't really get along that great...Elsie had a sixth sense of a kind and she felt that Beryl was a little jealous of her. But as the time passed, they got really close and now, she simply couldn't imagine her life in this house without, loud, little Beryl. Her constant optimism and her tendency to joke around, even in the most difficult situations, helped Elsie to cope with some things. She knew that she could count on her.  
They've shared many details of their childhood and young years, telling some secrets and supporting each other whenever one of them had some kind of difficult moment.  
At other times, when the situation required a drastic measures, they used to chase the troubles away by laughing so hard, that sometimes even Charles went to check on them, wanting to know what got them in such mood.

Charles Carson -from the first time that she saw him, was the man that changed her life. When she was younger and she refused marrying Joe, she told her mother that she didn't love him, that she didn't feel that special thing in her heart, that she was suppose to feel, meeting the man who will stole her heart.  
When she first saw Charles Carson, she already knew that he was that man. She never saw such a tall and handsome man, with such a great posture, with such thrilling voice. She loved to hear him speak.

She loved everything about him. Even this strictness of his, which was hard to bear at times...No man has ever evoke those kind of emotions in her, as he did. When they were sitting in the evening, at their glass of Sherry, she was more than happy to be with him, to have him all to herself, after all day, that she had to share him with so many other people.  
Often in her life, Elsie asked herself a lot of questions, often she had doubts about different things..But there was one thing that she was absolutely sure of, from the very beginning-that Charles Carson was a love of her life and she would be more than happy, to share her life with him...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the end of the story my dear people. I wanted to show the special relations between this trio. I hope that I dis it right. It was probably stretched a little bit out of their characters, but who cares? After all, it's just a fanfiction world. We don't have to stick to the facts here. For me, they will always be the King and Queens of Downton and they should have their separate show. I hope you liked this little story a bit. Sorry for mistakes. If you liked it, let me know. Thank you for being there with me, Elsie, Charles and Beryl. See you soon!

**Author's Note:**

> That's all for this chapter my lovelies...I sincerely hope that you will like this story, even though it's a bit different from all the stuff I wrote so far...We learnt about Elsie's background. In the next chapter, we will learn about Charles's background. Sorry for any mistakes and please let me know if it's worth to continue...  
> * I just couldn't help myself with the name for the local witch from Argyll-I hope that Phyllis Logan won't mind that..It's obvious that she is far from old, lonely woman,living with cats, in the deserted cottage. On the contrary..She is one of the loveliest people on this planet, but I thought that it would be perversely to use her name in the story about Elsie's childhood. Please don't hate me for that Phyllis ;-) ;) ;-) (Like she's gonna read that) :D


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